Newbie With Facemill Danger..LOL

Ok I am new to the machining community and I bought one of these cheap $50 facemills from Ebay. It uses 1604 inserts. So I am having some issues using it and wondered if you folks could point me in the right track.

I tried to use this on a piece of steel and no mater spindle speed of feed rate could I get the chips not to be red on fire. The surface finish sucked bad. So I figure the inserts suck, but before I buy a more expensive set, could the facemill just suck as well. I mean being new to the hobby it seems the facemill is just a found holder of such. Also if it take 1604 inserts is that all it can take?

I am using a X2 style mill so what should be my spindle speed etc using this..

This is very similar to what I bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-50mm-Face....c100290.m3507

How deep a cut were you attempting? Especially on a small mill like yours, a facemill can't be expected to take a very heavy cut. Try to do as light a cut as you can (like .005"), using plenty of lubrication (or flood cooling if you've got it) and see if the results are better. You need to run the spindle as slowly as it goes, with maximum torque, and feed slowly (like 3 ipm or so), at least until you start getting good cutting action and feel you could go faster. Keep an eye on the chips; it's okay if they're hot, but they shouldn't be red-hot, and while you don't want to make dust, they shouldn't be too thick either.

You'd be better off with a fly cutter. You are asking a lot of that little X2 with a multi insert face mill.

I agree with Kenny. Your machine is not capable of running a tool like this. Plus 50 bucks for an insert cutter, holder and inserts reeks of junk-junk-junk. "You get what you pay for" is not just some group of idle words with little meaning.

Single flute flycut. And you must make a chip. Rubbing gets you nowhere and creates heat. A chip will take the heat with it and out of the work zone.

If you want, take all the inserts out but one and use it like that.

Dave

I was going only a couple of thou.

Ok I have a flycutter as well but was not able to get it to cut like I expected it too. So could that be my inserts.

Ok so school me...
What does a high dollar facemill have that the cheap won't. I am trying to learn this hobby and to know why something is better would really help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by the_gentlegiant

I agree with Kenny. Your machine is not capable of running a tool like this. Plus 50 bucks for an insert cutter, holder and inserts reeks of junk-junk-junk. "You get what you pay for" is not just some group of idle words with little meaning.

Single flute flycut. And you must make a chip. Rubbing gets you nowhere and creates heat. A chip will take the heat with it and out of the work zone.

If you want, take all the inserts out but one and use it like that.

Dave

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The advice from member "awerby" is correct; light cuts and several passes at slow speed to begin with.
The low price for a facemill holder is not an impediment for a benchtop mini mill, what you have is perfectly fine I'm sure. Just need to select an insert designed to perform for the material you are cutting.
ps. I have plenty of those affordable and crash-friendly aluminum 7075 made indexable facemill and run them on much heavier equipment and mats without a problem. Insert type/shape matters though.

Re-take: I've just looked up X2 Milling Machine. It-is-small... didn't know/realize.
Worth mentioning that your milling machine isn't designed for such large diameter tool so go "extra light cuts" if you decide to use your facemill on it.
Could be wrong but I wouldn't be surprised the max diameter tool you can use on this machine is 8~10mm. In that case perhaps a much lighter fly cutter tool/system would be best (Kenny Duval's).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by truckeic

Ok so school me...
What does a high dollar facemill have that the cheap won't. I am trying to learn this hobby and to know why something is better would really help.

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Hi Truckeic,

In this situation it's really not so much the face mill as it is your machine. A 2" or 2 1/2" insert cutter on a machine like that is pushing it. It is all you have right now so find yourself some very highly positive geometry inserts which require less horsepower and rigidity. Although one problem with highly positive cutters is they want to suck your part right out of the vise, so they're usually not good on thin parts. Do what ever it takes to make an actual chip, even at low depths of cut. If the rigidity of the machine won't cut the material, try like I said and remove inserts until it will. This works especially well if you cutter has an even number of inserts so you can take them off in pairs. The insert pockets are not always perfectly spaced from one another but it shouldn't matter.

If you must, try latheinserts.com. They sell some descent lower cost face mills with high positive inserts. Not 50 bucks but still. (see below.)

To answer your question about high dollar cutters... I will say the more you pay does not always get you more. It usually does to a point, but eventually the returns become less and less as the dollars get more and more. I think in a production environment is where your dollars spent will mean the most. With your machine I don't think buying a high dollar cutter is going to make any difference as your weak link is the machine. I started with a desktop mill. Things can be done on them but you have to learn to work with what you got. Plus save your money for something better and don't blow it on expensive face mills you can't run anyway. There... that'll be 2 cents.

Dave

Try it at 300 rpm with a really slow feed, or 50 rpm if you can. The slower the rpm the better.

Think about it this way. You have a cutter at the end of a lever relative to the center of the spindle. The further you move out away from the center of rotation the longer that lever gets resulting in more leverage than the motor has torque to overcome. That makes it easier for the something in the path of the lever to generate more holding force than the motor can push through.

So when you move the insert further away from center the more power you need to push that insert through the material. Now multiply that by the number of inserts in the material at any point. At least with the fly cutter you only have one insert to push through the material. Keep that fly cutter set to a reasonable diameter. The only downsides to the fly cuter are is it is most cases an unbalanced tool and it can be grabby if you have a lot of thin material overhang.